


To The Only Boy I've Ever Loved

by bathala



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Inspired by To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23702821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bathala/pseuds/bathala
Summary: In which Hinata has been quietly in love with Naruto since forever and Hanabi takes it on herself to play matchmaker.  Fluff, High school AU two-shot.
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji/Karui, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Sai/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 16
Kudos: 100





	1. To The Only Boy I've Ever Loved

Hyuuga Hinata is what you might call a wallflower. Shy and reserved, she prefers not to be at the center of public attention with all eyes watching her. Instead, she is content to read, daydream, and press flowers in the coziness and privacy of her family’s home. 

Our Hinata has a secret she keeps close to her heart: she writes letters to the person she admires most... And the person she most admires is her complete opposite: he is loud, dynamic, popular, and _golden_. Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha’s resident fun-maker and prankster, practically everybody’s buddy, an all-around charmer with a heart of gold and a sunny smile, and big dreams to play professional basketball and “change the league for the better.”

So, how did it come to be that the quiet and invisible first daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi is crushing hard on someone so fundamentally different from her? In 5th grade, on a snowy day walk home by herself with 7-year old Hanabi, mischievous and meddling Naruto came to their rescue, headed home himself, when a gaggle of older school bullies were harassing them. His guardian, Jiraiya, who had been home that week on a break from his promotional book tour, showed up just in time in his car and scared off the school bullies from doing further damage beyond pushing Naruto around and destroying his red scarf. They brought Hinata and Hanabi home. 

For the rest of the academic year, they walked home together, until Naruto joined the school's sports teams after-school in middle school and made new friends, mainly Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Not long after, Hinata's Uncle Hizashi and cousin Neiji moved in with them in the Hyuuga compound after his parents’ divorce. Neji became Hinata's constant companion, a protective older figure brother to Hanabi and her.

Inevitably, Hinata and Naruto drifted apart in their friendship. He still greeted hello to her in the hallways when they passed each other and whenever he was throwing a party, he never forget to invite her. Yet at large, their interactions, far and few in between, gave zero development to Hinata’s crush. Besides that, everyone knew Naruto had a crush on Sakura, his closest friend after Sasuke. The trio were frequently together hanging out, totally inseparable.

 _'It's hopeless,'_ Hinata writes in a letter she never intends to give Naruto. She has a box full of letters to Naruto over the years. _'But I can't help admiring you even after all this time. Your heart is as a good as ever, and that's what makes you a real champion of Konoha, Naruto-kun.'_ Hinata pauses for a moment, _'I wish, Naruto-kun, I had the courage to speak to you and tell you how I really feel - or at least, ask you to be friends again.'_

"So, why don't you?" a voice from behind says. Hinata is startled from Hanabi's interruption. Instinctively, she flips over the paper on her desk to hide the letter she is writing.

"Imouto-chan, don’t sneak up on people like that. It's rude!" Hinata says.

Unbothered, Hanabi coolly shrugs off her sister's words. "I just came to tell you dinner is ready."

“I’ll be down in a moment.”

She turns over her paper to end the letter with: _Love, Hinata._

* * *

A few days later, Hinata is running laps during her gym period when Naruto races up next to her. "Hey," he says.

For a moment, Hinata is confused. She looks to her left and right to see if he is actually addressing her. She points to herself, as if to say, 'Me?'

"Yeah, Hinata, hey," Naruto repeats. "Listen, we should talk."

Hinata could feel herself blushing. This is the most they've spoken in years. "W-what about, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto doesn't reply right away. Still running beside her, he pulls out a folded pastel-yellow envelope from his pocket. He holds it up for her to see and Hinata turns fifty shades of red. It's her letter from the other night. 

She stops in the middle of the track now in disbelief. Somehow, she finds enough of her voice to ask, "W-where did you get that?"

It's Naruto's turn to give Hinata a confused look. "Didn't you give this to me? Ero-sennin said it came with the mail yesterday afternoon dattebayo."

Hinata wants to scream. Instead, the world goes blurry and she faints.

* * *

When Hinata wakes up she is in a white room with a thin white sheet covering her. The nurse's office. 

Shizune-sensei, the school's nurse, glances at her from the corner of the room. "Ah, Hinata," she says, immediately walking over to her bedside. She raises up two fingers and asks, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Hinata blinks and obediently replies, "Two." 

Shizune now has a handheld light and is flashing it in Hinata's eyes. "Just checking in case you had a concussion from your fainting spell," Shizune explains. She writes something on her clipboard. "Do you feel sick in any way? I am obligated to ask if you have recently had unprotected sex, or have taken any medications, alcohol, or drugs."

"No, and no, ma'am," Hinata tells her, flushing again.

"OK," Shizune smiles. "I suggest drinking water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated." She points to a glass of water beside Hinata. "Apart from that, I can write you a pass to class if you are feeling alright to go," she continues.

"Sorry," Hinata says. "What exactly happened?" She recalls Naruto revealing a letter she wrote that he was never EVER supposed to read and is desperately hoping it was all a bad dream.

"You fainted on the track field," Shizune explains. "Uzumaki Naruto carried you all the way here. He was all in a panic; I had to kick him out to go back to class. He seemed very worried about you," Shizune winks at Hinata, "I bet he'll come by this afternoon to check on you if you haven't left yet."

Still blushing, Hinata gulps. "Sh-Shizune-sensei, I would like to call my father to ask for permission to go home."

* * *

Back in the safety of the Hyuuga household, Hinata face-plants into her pillow. She reaches beneath her bed to retrieve the wicker box of secret letters and sure enough, her most recent letter is missing. Hyperventilating, Hinata shuts her eyes and tries to understand how it is possible that this letter made its way to Naruto's mailbox.

"Tadaima," Hanabi's voice downstairs drifts upstairs. Hinata's eyes fly open, the realization dawning on her. She walks downstairs to confront her sister, who is taking off her shoes at the entrance hallway with Neji who also just arrived home. 

"Hanabi," she says slowly and measuredly, dropping honorifics.

"Oneechan," Hanabi returns. For a moment, she looks nervous.

"Did you go into my things and send a letter without my permission?" Hanabi jumps to hide behind Neji, a split second before Hinata tries to grab her shoulder to shake her sister in anger.

Even Neji is surprised by Hinata's out of character behavior. "Hina-sama, calm down! What happened?"

"Ask Hanabi-chan!"

From behind Neji, Hanabi shouts, "You said you wanted the courage to tell him how you felt, so I decided to help you do it!"

"Tell who?" Neji queries as the sisters continue to chase each other around the house. 

Hanabi buys herself time by screaming, "Uzumaki Naruto!" which halts Hinata momentarily who freezes at the name.

Hanabi jumps from the living room couch to race upstairs to the safety of her room. Still standing in the hallway entrance, Neji is smirking amused at Hinata. "Uzumaki, hm?"

* * *

Later that night, Hanabi knocks on her older sister's door to hug Hinata and beg for forgiveness. True to Hinata's real nature, Hinata returns the sisterly embrace. 

With a sigh, she says to Hanabi, "Hanabi-chan... I know you were just trying to help."

The next few days at school, Hinata avoids Naruto like the plague. She is mostly successful with a few close encounters that she masterfully maneuvered her way out of. But then, on Friday afternoon at around 4pm, the doorbell of Hyuuga residence rings.

"Hina-sama," Neji calls out to her from downstairs using the nickname he’s always used for her. "You have a visitor."

Nothing could prepare her for an awkward conversation like this with Naruto, her forever crush. Hinata creeps at the top of the stairs to peer down in the house’s entrance and sure enough, there is Uzumaki Naruto, sunflower hair, ocean eyes, and light scratches on either side of his tanned cheeks. 

She pulls out her phone to text Neji, _'Could you tell him I'm sick, or not home?'_

She sees that Neji receives her message, his smart watch lighting up, but he turns away from it and loudly says to Naruto, "She'll be down in a second," briefly glancing at the staircase.

"Cool! Thanks, Neji."

"I'll go and get her, why don't you wait in the courtyard outside?"

Once Naruto disappears, Hinata quietly makes her way down the stairs to whisper desperately to her cousin, "Neji-niisan, why?"

"We all have to face our fears someday, Hina-sama," Neji tells her, pointing to the doorway, Naruto just beyond it. "Trust me, you'll be happy you did." 

Hinata takes a deep breath to try to steady her heart rapidly beating 'dokidoki.'

"Ready?" Neji says and without warning, opens the door and gently pushes Hinata through it. It is at this exact moment, Naruto turns and catches Hinata from completely stumbling on to the floor.

"Hinata! Finally, I caught up to you," Naruto says, staring down at her with a smile.

"N-Naruto-kun, er," Hinata stammers. She straightens up to stand away from his arms.

"I wanted to say thanks for your letter," Naruto tells her. "Of course, we can be friends again!" He beams at her brightly, and Hinata is suddenly unsure if Naruto understands that she also feels romantically about him.

She doesn’t dare ask for clarification. She avoids any eye-contact with him and instead focuses on the koi fish swimming in the pond to their not-too-distant left: the orange and red scales catching the light underneath the water.

Her chest aches and part of her wants to cry so badly from her own embarrassment, but she manages to say to Naruto evenly, "I'm happy you'd like to be friends with me again."

"Awesome!!" Naruto exclaims, pleased by her response. "I'm throwing a party this weekend. You should come, I never see you at the parties or hangouts. Your cousin has come through a few times with Rock Lee and Tenten. It'll be cool to have you there, too! Will you come, Hinata, please?"

This time, Hinata turns her face to give a small smile to Naruto. "I'll think about it."

* * *

"So, I hear you're coming with us to Naruto's party tonight," Tenten asserts happily as she stands in Hinata's bedroom doorway.

Hinata bites her lip, misty-eyed. Neji could probably sense that going to Naruto's was the very last thing she wanted to do, and that she would much rather retreat to the sanctuary of her own room for the remainder of the weekend or better yet, the rest of the year. She feels like a crybaby to be seized so strongly by her emotions, but Tenten's reassuring touch on her shoulders pulls her back into the present moment outside herself.

"I brought face masks," Tenten says cheerfully. "Let's do them before we get ready for later. We'll make Neji and Hanabi-chan do one with us, too!"

* * *

Hanabi convinces Hinata to wear a floral knee-length dress paired with sneakers for the party, despite the crisp chill of an early autumn night. On the way to Naruto's house with Tenten and Neji, Hinata began to wish she had worn something warmer other than her denim jacket.

Finally, the trio reached Naruto's doorstep. It is Neji and Tenten's best friend Rock Lee who greets them first.

"I've been waiting for you two!" Rock Lee practically yells at them. Behind Neji, he catches sight of the Hyuuga cousin and adds warmly, "Hinata-san! You are the image of eternal YOUTH and beauty tonight!"

Disliking the flirtatious glint in his friend's eye towards his cousin, Neji drags Rock Lee away to kitchen and calls over his shoulder to Hinata and Tenten, "I'll get us some sodas."

Hinata follows the friends down the hallway, when Naruto appears, throwing an enthusiastic arm around the eldest Hyuuga daughter. "Hinata!" he exlcaims excitedly, "you made it dattebayo!"

"H-hai," Hinata stammers out. "Good evening, N-Naruto-kun." 

Still grinning at her, Naruto says, "It’s been a while since you’ve come over to my place, ne? Since elementary school, or something!" Glancing up quickly, he tells Neji and Tenten, "I'm gonna tour Hinata the house, so I'll borrow her for a sec."

"No funny business, Uzumaki," Neji throws in warning as the pair head to the living room.

Animatedly, Naruto leads Hinata through the living room, the basement game room, and the patio, describing the other people he invited for his party: of course, Sakura and Sasuke, who were the first to arrive but were presently nowhere to be found; the Sand siblings from the neighboring town of Suna; Sai, a classmate from his art class who 'saved his ass' on a partner project; Sakura's close friend, Ino, and her childhood friends Shikamaru and Chouji and Chouji's girlfriend Karui; his distant relative Karin and her kinda boyfriend Suigetsu and their friend Juugo; and Kiba from the basketball team and his best friend Shino. 

Hinata waves at the pair when they catch one another's gazes from across the room and smile at her in recognition. Both sit next to her in Kurenai-sensai's class.

"And that freshman Konohamaru tried to invite himself over too but I didn't feel like babysitting that kid tonight," Naruto rambles on.

"Konohamaru-kun?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"He's a friend of my sister, he's visited the house a few times. S-she likes to boss him around a lot," Hinata supplies. Leaning in towards Naruto, she whispers with a conspiratorial smile, "Anou, I think he has a crush on Hanabi-chan." 

To which, Naruto responds with a hearty laugh. "Ooh, I can't wait to - "

"Dobe, we're up next for the game. Get moving."

Naruto stops mid-sentence to turn to his dark-haired best friend. "Teme!! S'bout time you showed up again!!" Flashing a smile at the pinkette beside him, Naruto says, "Sakura-chan, where'd you guys disappear to?!"

Ignoring his question, Sakura lightly grabs Hinata's hand. "They're about to pummel each other on Street Fighter, let's get snacks upstairs!"

Anko-dumplings and a cinnamon roll in hand, Sakura and Hinata settle on one side of the staircase which leads down to the basement game room. Sure enough, Naruto and Sasuke are fixated and engrossed in the video game screen with a few onlookers crowding and egging them on.

"They take it very seriously," Sakura tells Hinata, "like it’s life, or death." 

Sasuke wins the final round and Naruto refuses to give up the controller, interjecting loudly, "Rematch!"

Suddenly, Sakura whispers to Hinata, "I know about the letter." Hinata is visibly embarrassed and is unsure of what to say.

"Be patient, OK?" Sakura encourages her. "Naruto is dumb and dense. He knows nothing about girls, and so he asked me for advice since it seemed like you were avoiding him. I told him what he probably already knows: Naruto is beyond lucky to have someone as sweet as you think so highly of him.” She winks at her. "Don't give up."

“Why are you being so nice to me?" Hinata asks, astonished. "He likes you, you know," she says boldly.

Sakura snorts. "I'm his closest friend who's a girl and - well, he's seriously compared his love for basketball and ramen to liking or loving another person. But it's not the same."

Sakura stares wistfully in the distance. Hinata follows her gaze to none other than the stoic younger Uchiha sitting on the couch intensely focused on the screen.

"Different kinds of love, right?" Sakura concludes.

* * *

An hour later, Hinata sneaks off to the terrace for some fresh air. She breathes in the coolness of the evening, tipping her head back in quiet relief.

"Yo," a voice calls out to her.

"E-Eh?!" gasps Hinata, jumping slightly from the sound. She turns towards the direction of the voice and finds Naruto sitting on the roof above her. 

Golden boy lets out a chuckle as he offers a quick apology for scaring her. "Come up and hang out with me," he beckons her. He points to the wide-fence on the terrace, "Climb on top of that and I'll pull you up here, dattebayo."

Once on the tiled roof with Naruto, Hinata takes a seat beside him. She gazes up to find a curtain of velvet-blue sky and white stars above them, the moon standing as the central ornament of the night. "Sugoi..."

"Yeah," Naruto says next to her. "My thoughts exactly."

Hinata's eyes trail down back to Naruto and finds him staring at her with the same azure eyes she has always admired. By some miracle, she manages to find her voice to say, "Wh-what are you doing out here on your own, Naruto-kun?"

"I gotta reset and gather my energy." He smiles at Hinata, "Tonight, I want to beat Sasuke in darts. Then, after that... we're versing each other on team charades. Be on my team, OK?"

She almost wants to tell him that she’s always be on his team, rooting for him on the sidelines. Instead, Hinata returns his smile with a nod but is unable to hide the shiver that passes through her body.

“You cold?” Naruto states. He shrugs off his varsity jacket and throws it on Hinata like a cape. “Neji would kill me if you got sick from being up here with me.”

“Eeto, arigatou.”

“No problem,” Naruto says, sitting closer to her than a moment before. His eyes linger upon Hinata’s face as a soft breeze passes over them on the roof. She takes her dark hair behind her ear to keep it in place.

Naruto’s stare prompts the Hyuuga to ask, “What is it?” What is Naruto thinking? How weird she is? Is something on her face?

“Nothing,” Naruto says hurriedly. “You... you look a little different.” Hinata’s blush deepens. She had hoped it wasn’t too obvious she made an effort in her appearance today. Tenten put a little makeup on her earlier: some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. “But you smell the same as I remember,” Naruto finishes.

“Huh?!” She was not expecting to that. Did she smell bad?

This time, Naruto chuckles. As if reading her mind, he says, “Not a bad smell. You smell like flowers, dattebayo.”

Relaxing a bit, Hinata specifies to him, “Lavender.” Then, “M-my mom liked them best and kept them around the house. We still keep bundles of it... It makes me feel closer to her since she’s been gone.” Her and Hanabi’s mother passed away from leukemia the summer before 5th grade.

Beside her, Hinata could sense Naruto’s body tense slightly.

“I...” Naruto starts before clearing his throat. “I understand that completely, wanting to feel closer.” A quick pause, and he adds, “It's cool you have memories of her. If it weren’t for photos of my parents, I wouldn’t remember what they looked like.”

This strikes a familiar chord in Hinata. For the first time ever, she says aloud to another human being, “There are... honestly times I forget that Okaasan is dead. It’s not often but it-it’s happened. Aren’t I awful?”

“Hinata,” Naruto says sternly. “No, you’re not. You’re far from it. You’re one of the nicest people alive, dattebayo.“

Hinata falls quiet, unsure of what else to say. The silence blankets them as the pair stare at the distant stars and moon overhead. It is Naruto who breaks through the quiet to say, "I'm glad you decided to show up today, Hinata.”

“Neji and Tenten convinced me.” Heat rising to her cheeks again, Hinata admits, “I was um, ashamed to come here.”

“Ashamed, why?” Naruto raises an eyebrow. “That’s weird. You should know I've always admired you too. You might be quiet, but you're strong in your own way, and I always see you take care of other people, like your sister and even your grumpy cousin, no offense. I like that about you. I wouldn’t have said no if you asked me to hang out with you, Hinata ‘ttebayo!"

A fuzzy warmth sparks in her chest and spreads through her body like fireworks. Maybe he is just saying it to be nice, but it’s still really special to hear these words from Naruto.

Hinata tells him sweetly, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Underneath moonlight and twinkling starlight, they share a smile. And for our blooming wallflower Hyuuga Hinata, this precious moment with the only boy she ever loved is - enough.


	2. Still Love You

On Monday, Naruto practically yells across the cafeteria for Hinata to sit and eat with him and his friends. “Hinata, I’ve saved you a spot here dattebayo!”

Hinata freezes at the invitation as curious onlookers glance between her and Naruto, who is standing and waving for her to come over to their table. She catches sight of Neji, who she normally sits with at lunch along with Tenten and Rock Lee, and a wordless nod from him encourages her to take a step towards Naruto’s cafeteria corner.

As she draws closer to the table, she hears Sakura admonish Naruto, “Baka, you don’t need to scream at her across the room!”

“Wha - I was just really excited when I saw her,” Naruto explains to her.

Sasuke sits beside them looking unperturbed. He greets Hinata with a simple nod of his head, “Hyuuga.”

Hinata bows slightly, out of habit more than anything. “Hello, Sasuke-san.”

Sakura points to the empty space next to Naruto. “Sorry you were called out like that, Hinata-chan. Really happy you came over though!” She leans closer to Hinata so only she can hear, “It’ll be nice to have another girl sit with us again.” Recently, Ino had been opting to sit with her new crush, Sai, along with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Karui instead of their table.

“What have you got for lunch, Hinata?” Naruto asks, eyeing her bento.

“Chicken katsu over rice and sliced cucumbers,” says Hinata. “And you?”

“Well, Ero-sennin ain’t home this week so,” Naruto whips out a familiar red packet of chocolate-covered Pocky sticks, a rascal grin gracing his face.

“That’s all, dobe?” Sasuke scowls, uncovering his salad topped with a full layer of cherry tomatoes. “Pitiful.”

“Honestly, Naruto, how are you even an athlete?” Sakura rolls her eyes, slicing through a boiled egg from her own bento. The two friends pile together tomatoes and egg for Naruto on a clean napkin as if it were a normal occurrence.

Hinata also offers, “W-would you like to have some of my bento, Naruto-kun?”

“Really??”

She scoots closer to Naruto, sliding her lunchbox with her.

“Delicious! Did your dad make this for you, Hinata?”

“No, I did. I make my father's, Uncle's, Neji-niisan's and Hanabi-chan’s too.” She briefly wonders what she will prepare for their bentos tomorrow. Perhaps she'd make one for Naruto, too.

Meanwhile, Naruto looks on, impressed. “You’re totally wifey material, Hinata.”

Hinata blushes deeply in response, unable to meet his eyes. How easily he says things that are on his mind - she wishes she shared the same gumption to speak her mind freely. 

Lunch continues with Hinata mostly listening and observing the interactions between Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. It seemed like they are a family, with Sakura and Sasuke playing the mature couple taking care of a younger sibling, or son, namely Naruto.

Before they go separate ways from the cafeteria, Naruto grabs Hinata’s hand and writes down his number on her palm. “I realize I don’t have your number! I've got your cousin's but not yours... Send me a text once dismissal happens today. I'll drive you home, dattebayo!”

"Um," Hinata begins to protest. "Neji-niisan drives us home. Sometimes, Tenten and Rock Lee join Hanabi and me in the car."

"Oh, right," Naruto deflates slightly. "Well, I haven't got basketball practice after-school on Mondays... can Mondays be our day when we eat lunch together and I get to drop you off home, or hang out with you?"

It is easy to say yes.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata rapidly become close friends over the course of a mere few months. It’s likely because Naruto likes to FaceTime her after dinner and chat until one of them grows sleepy. There were a few times the pair had fallen asleep together on the phone; Hinata wonders if she snores because she certainly has woken up once or twice from Naruto's snoring on the other end of the phone line. 

Naruto passes her notes in class too, since cellphones are prohibited during instruction. He folds them into a small paper plane with quick little messages. His first note to her read, "Remember when I used to call you _hime_ when we were little kids?"

Other people begin to notice the increased interaction between Naruto and Hinata and start to comment on it. During science class taught by a pregnant Kurenai-sensei, Hinata's seatmates turn to Naruto when his paper-plane accidentally collides with Kiba's head.

"Oi, Naruto. Stop distracting our partner with your stupid love notes!" barks Kiba. On the other side of the classroom with Chouji and Karui, Naruto grins and throws his teammate the middle finger. Kiba shifts his attention to Hinata, "You comin' to our home game on Thursday, Hinata?" It is a playoff game against Suna.

"Hai," confirms Hinata. Neji is also on the basketball team, a dedicated team player but not quite obsessed as Naruto, Sasuke, and Rock Lee, and she often went to the games in support of her cousin with Tenten.

"Please convince Shino to be there too, I need a personal cheerleader," Kiba urges. "Naruto and Sasuke always gets all the fans. It's so unfair!"

"I'll cheer for you, Kiba-kun," Hinata promises. "And Shino-kun will too! He'll be right beside me." she adds slyly.

Shino submits, "...I guess it can't be helped."

"Sweet!"

* * *

On a Sunday, Naruto is invited to have dinner with the Hyuugas. Hiashi is admittedly a very busy business man, managing their family's real estate company with Hizashi, and working long hours away from home. Yet even he notices the fresh bond burgeoning between his eldest daughter and the Uzumaki boy. Naturally, he tells Hinata to have him for over at the Hyuuga household, to join them during their weekly Sunday dinner together as a family.

The housekeeper and her garden-to-table chef extraordinaire husband, Natsu and Ko, prepare the meal for the family on Sundays. Naruto holds his own pretty well during the meal, even as he swiftly comes to understand that this is a test and tonight, he is grossly outnumbered by six protective Hyuugas against him, the lone guest and outsider.

It is at the conclusion of their shared dinner that Naruto gains Hiashi's approval by a simple declaration. While Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji are helping Ko and Natsu tidy up in the kitchen, Naruto seizes the opportunity to ask Hiashi (with Hizashi sitting off to the side) his permission to bring Hinata to a concert some weeks from now. 

Without any prompting, Naruto states, "I'll be driving, so I promise there'll be no drinking, no drugs, and... no pervy hands. Not that I was planning to. Just - seems like you're worried about it. Like you guys," Naruto glances at Hinata who is out of ear reach, "Hinata is precious to me, too. I'll take care of her while she's with me, believe it, sir." 

* * *

"Naruto-kun! I'm so excited for this," Hinata says as she clicks-in her seat belt. "Thanks for buying us tickets!"

"Heh, yeah it's nothin'," Naruto murmurs, keeping his eyes on the road. He had been looking forward to this live music show with Hinata for months and should be feeling equally excited, but recent rumors about Neji's classmate hitting on Hinata is bothering him. 

Hinata of course notices his mood right away. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

Not one to beat around the bush, Naruto answers candidly, "Sakura-chan and her friends told me that guy Tononi likes you. That he asked you to be his date to their senior prom." Apparently, there had been a bouquet of flowers and everything.

Carefully, Hinata slowly replies, "Hai... Toneri-senpai asked me to be his date."

"When? Where?" Naruto asks, trying to keep his temper in check. The thought of another guy trying to take Hinata's attention away from her - er, friends like him, twists Naruto's stomach in a way he's never felt before. 

"On Tuesday, while I was reading in the library after-school. He's usually there studying, too." 

"Oh." An awkward pause, then: "So, are ya gonna go to prom with him?" _D'you like him?_ he wants to ask.

"No, I declined," Hinata said, sounding a little guilty. "I don't want to lead Toneri-senpai on because he seems to like me as a girlfriend, and I don't like him more than a friend." To Naruto's complete surprise, Hinata also admits in the car seat next to him, "Anyway, I like... s-someone else."

A different feeling swells in Naruto's chest. Hope? His grip tightens on the steering wheel as his eyes fleetingly looks over to the girl beside him. "Who is it? Do I, uh know him?"

Hinata, with a very apparent pink on her cheeks, smiles softly and shifts to look outside the car window on her right. "Naruto-kun... c-can I tell you another time, please?"

And because Naruto has difficulty denying Hinata anything she wants, Naruto drops the subject for the remainder of the night.

* * *

The following week, Naruto asks Hiashi's permission again to take Hinata out on a school-night after dinner. He doesn't tell Hinata where he is taking her, just that she should dress warmly. She decides to layer on his orange hoodie underneath her coat that he insisted she keep because she needs to be "kept warm at all times."

Even while driving in the car, Naruto is tight-lipped about their destination. But he grins happily at Hinata, and maybe even looks a little nervous.

When he parks the car, Hinata sees that they are close to the river, an empty grassy field stretched along the water. There are a scattering of people already there, lights illuminating areas where they stood.

 _'Sky lanterns,'_ the young Hyuuga realizes in awe.

"Ready?" Naruto says, opening the car door for her.

* * *

"Waddya gonna write on the lantern for your wish?" Naruto asks once they spread out the paper lantern for writing on the grass.

Hinata smiles at him, nearly giggling. "I am wishing for the sun," she says simply.

Naruto laughs in return, "Perfect, dattebayo! My wish is for the moon."

After a short moment of quiet writing for the sun and the moon, Hinata asks, "W-we... can we write more than one wish?"

Naruto looks at her and fights the impulse to reach out and caress the glow of her cheeks. "Y-yeah, I think so."

She writes something else down on the lantern. Naruto tilts his head to read, _'May all of Naruto's wishes to come true.'  
_

It takes all of the young Uzumaki's willpower not to reach out and kiss his - his _hime_ right then and there. Instead, he grabs the marker and adds to Hinata's wish so it becomes, _'May all of Naruto's **and Hinata** **'s** wishes come true.'_

* * *

Together, they light up and release their sky lantern into the air and watch it join the many illuminated wishes of those who are with them by the water. For a while, they say nothing, content just to be near each other under a sky full of hopes and dreams. It is almost enough, except...

Naruto wants to touch Hinata, to hug her, and feel her fingers laced into his own. He knows her scent, loves the way she looks wearing his favorite sweater, can intuit what exasperates her and what fills her with joy, and is learning about all her subtle nuances and layers, ones which he has yet to discover but wants to understand more than anything.

He takes the leap. "Hey, hime..." he begins. He probably should’ve written a speech and practiced what to say for this confession but that’s never been his style. Not with his emotions, at least. Before losing his nerve, he musters out, "Hinata, you should know that... that I like you." 

Hinata turns to him with her eyes just like the moon. "I like you too, Naruto-kun." She smiles at him, "You're a wonderful friend."

"N-No, I mean..." Naruto takes a quick breath, before stating, "I like you more than a friend. Get it, dattebayo?" 

Hinata is stunned speechless and stares at him in surprise. 

Naruto takes the chance to explain, "It's not a fancy promposal - I'll do that for ya next year, but - I guess this is my please-be-my-girlfriend proposal. So waddya think, Hinata? How 'bout you and me?"

This time, he takes her hand into his; her skin is smooth as his thumb strokes over the thin flesh of her knuckles as he waits for her to speak.

Finally, she answers. "Hai..." Hinata says. "I-I'd like to be your girlfriend, Naruto-kun," she tells him softly, but with all her heart. 

"What, seriously!" Naruto releases his held breath, feeling like his heart is going to leap out of his chest now and do a crazy dance. "Man, this is -- this is so cool, dattebayo! I'm your boyfriend now - my wish came true!!" 

Hinata giggles, feeling giddy herself. Calming down slightly, Naruto then asks Hinata with obvious hope, "Can I kiss you?"

Blushing, Hinata closes her eyes as her reply, and feels Naruto pull her gently towards him for a perfect first kiss. As she feels the familiar warmth from their kiss gather and spread out throughout her entire being, she thinks how lovingly Naruto tastes, just like sunshine. 


	3. Bonus Scene: Pretty in Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little somethin' extra, teehee.

As one of the star players of the HS varsity basketball team, the Konoha Kitsunes, Naruto is known to be a bit of a show-off. He is particularly fond of jumping over members of the opposing team, maneuvering a little two-step and spin before finally laying up or dunking the ball into the hoop for scoring points. His winning trademark is to shout out, “Rasengan!” as he releases the ball into the air for a point.

Recently, since he and Hinata had begun to hang out again this year, the young Uzumaki scans the cheering crowd once an interval to catch sight of Hinata. He knows she often attends the game with Tenten and her younger sister in moral support of Neji, a graduating senior this year. These days, Shino is also sitting with them; he once appeared with a big poster with the glittering words ‘KIBA, CATCH THE BALL!’ to show his own support of his friend.

When the season started and their rekindled friendship had still been in the beginning stages, Naruto hoped Hinata was also watching and cheering him on too, along with Neji and Kiba. With each point he’s made, he finds himself wondering, _‘Is Hinata watching? Did she see me make that point like a pro!’_

On the bleachers, she is easy to spot with his orange hoodie on. If Naruto was lucky enough to see her smile at him from across the basketball court, he knew that the game was theirs. That is how powerful her smile was to him: he feels like he can do anything so as long as she is smiling up at him.

Tonight’s game is no different, especially now that he and Hinata are exclusively boyfriend and girlfriend (much to the disappointment of many girls and a few boys at KHS). The opposing team, the Akatsukis, are also a particularly brutal team to beat for the championship. There has been a long-standing rivalry between the two schools which has endured for years, maybe even generations (if the glares exchanged between the two coaches Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi were any indication). But with Hinata’s smile motivating Naruto on, the Kitsunes play hard and smart together, in the best rhythm and synchronicity probably ever, to overcome the likes of court destroyers Pain, Deidara, Hidan, Kisame, and Sasori.

Close to the end of the game, it is a tie between both teams. With Sasuke’s diversion tactic, coupled with the strong defense guard of Kiba and Lee, and a skillful pass from Neji, the ball finds its way to Naruto and he shoots the ball seconds before the horn blows - and with a quick tip at the rim, it falls in! 

When the bell rings to signify the end of the game, the entire room roars and the only person Naruto wants to be with in that moment of victory is his Hinata. He pushes past the screaming fans to hop his way over to where Hinata is standing with Hanabi, Shino, Konohamaru, and Tenten.

Once before her, Naruto reaches for Hinata's sweet face and kisses his pretty hime in orange while the rest of the world hangs back in confetti and celebration. 


End file.
